German Patent Application No. DE 101 41 697 describes a control unit having a printed circuit board which has a heat dissipating electrical component. The electrical component is cooled due to the fact that it is able to dissipate its heat to a housing surrounding the printed circuit board. For this purpose, the housing is provided with an area capable of dissipating heat. To achieve heat dissipation, the printed circuit board is placed in physical contact with the heat conducting area.
Physical contact of this type may give rise to undefined air gaps between the printed circuit board and the housing, which hinders an optimum heat conducting connection.